Students were able to learn and play games from around the world at the inaugural World Games Expo hosted by the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Program in Fullerton, California on Tuesday.
Kristen McVaugh, Graduate Assistant for the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Program, said it was important to host the event so that students could take the game out of their own culture and share their cultural pride and excitement with the campus community. said it is.
Diversity initiatives on campus partnered with Student Programs & Engagement and the Association for Intercultural Awareness to share games of different cultures.
The event featured soccer, mahjong, chess, cricket, bowling, techball, daruma, and many other games, along with Titan Student Union, Taffy Lawn, and two food trucks on the lower level of the Student Recreation Center. Over 150 people attended the event.
“The main mission of all this was to unite diversity, unite cultures, unite so many people to celebrate it,” said Cynthia Barajas, Graduate Assistant to Student Programming and Engagement. said.
Planning for the event began last spring, according to McVaugh. They recruited several clubs and organizations to participate in the event. Of the five clubs he submitted games to the event, he attended only two. Marketing for the event began last fall.
“We love the idea of representing people’s cultures across ASI and Fullerton. We’re happy to offer food trucks, obviously to get more engagement.” So I think we got quite a few participants.”
Patrick Aneo, a second-year mechanical engineering major and president of the Japan Anime Club, said attending the event was a good way to promote the club to potential new members.
“We are trying to focus on attracting a lot of people to the club, especially with very niche topics like anime and Japanese culture in general, where some people find a focal point to hang out and have a home. I’ll find you,” said Anio.
They said the club chose to play Daruma at the event because it was easy. moves slowly toward someone while not looking.
“People have seen ‘Squid Games’ and maybe make that connection. In a way, they might be like, ‘Oh, I want to play Red Light, Green Light. said Anieo.
Ana Alves, a sophomore master’s student in kinesiology and vice president of the Teqsports club, was promoting sports like Teqball. Teqball is a sport she devised in 2014 that combines elements of table tennis, volleyball and soccer. To play Teqball, you need a specific curved table similar to a ping pong table and a ball used for soccer or volleyball.
“There are a lot of people playing and learning this sport, some signing up for future clubs.I am really happy with this event,” Alves said.
As this is the first event of its kind, McVaugh said he would love to see more club participation to keep the event running.
Fhil Ladores, a sophomore in communication sciences and disability, said he enjoyed the event but wanted to see more of the lesser-known sport.
In an email to Daily Titan, McVaugh wrote:
